Construction crews working atop the Legacy Library put their work on hold for a few minutes Monday as the Marietta College community paused to commemorate the final piece of roof steel being set into place.

Dr. Douglas Anderson, Marietta's librarian, thanked the crowd of people who gathered for the event and introduced Marietta College President Jean A. Scott and a representative from Grae-Con Construction, who is the lead contractor for the Legacy Library project.

"This is a very exciting day for Marietta College," said Dr. Scott. ". . . Some people have been dreaming of this library for decades," including retired librarian Sandra Neyman '62, who was present to share in the milestone moment. Scott said it is fitting to have the rounded building at the center of the campus as intellectual activity is at the center of what Marietta College does. The crowd on the ground took a moment to applaud the efforts of the construction crews watching the ceremony from the air.

Rob Gribben, marketing director for Grae-Con Construction, said the white painted beam, which sat in front of the construction site for a few hours before the ceremony, was signed by students, staff, faculty, donors, and members of Grae-Con's team and Smith Brothers Erectors, the company that put up the steel frame. "The beam is the centerpiece coming off the compression ring," Gribben said. "That's the last piece of structural steel in the roof, but there will still be some detail work left to do on (the roof framing)."

Grae-Con purchased 400 t-shirts that commemorated the event and Chartwells provided cake and drinks.

Shortly after Scott and Gribben spoke, four workers from Smith Brothers hoisted the 129-pound beam overhead and began walking to the northwest side of the up-and-coming building. Once there, the beam was tied by steel cable and crews attached four additional beams beneath it. At that point, the beams were lifted and the final stages of the roof's framing got underway.

"The next step is laying the decking and then the roof," said Greg Fitzgerald, the project superintendent for Grae-Con.

Library Beam

Construction crew begins framing the skeleton of Legacy Library's roof
March 12, 2008

Shortly after lunchtime Wednesday, construction workers began the labor-intensive job of setting in place the cambered beams, which will support the domed metal roof of the Legacy Library. A giant crane lifted each beam to the top of the building's shell and workers with Grae-Con Construction bolted the curved steel to both the outside structure and the center compression ring.

The last beam of the roof steel is expected to be in place within the next two weeks, said Fred Smith, director of Physical Plant. Masonry work is expected to start shortly the third week in April.

The 53,000-square-foot library will in January 2009. To watch the construction progress, visit the Legacy Library's Web cam at http://webcams.marietta.edu/banjohn/

All Nighters

Reflections of Legacy's foundational fans
Oct. 5, 2007

Three students—biochemistry major Tyler Okel '08, education major Luke Haumesser '09 and studio art and graphics design double major Claire Reintgen '08—spent the night of Oct. 4 outside the chain link fence that separates Marietta College’s campus from the work site of the future Legacy Library. The trio documented their overnight journey, which was Luke’s brainchild, in a personal journal.

College re-enacts Dawes Memorial Library's 'Operation Book Brigade'

March 8, 2007 -- A group of Marietta College students, faculty and staff gathered at Dawes Memorial Library Thursday afternoon to honor the history of the library and to relive a moment from the College's past.

Giving a symbolic nod of respect to the cherished history of Dawes Memorial Library, dedicated volunteers from the campus community re-enacted the 1961 "Operation Book Brigade."

Taking part in the re-enactment put some participants in touch with both the past and the future.

For retired Marietta College librarian (1968-2004) Sandra Neyman '62, history was repeating on a personal level. Neyman, who returned to helped register book carriers for this book brigade, was a student participant in the 1961 event.

"Building a new library is a new chapter in the history of Marietta College," said Julie Boyce '10. "I wanted to be part of that, doing something that students 50 years from now will look back on, maybe in the same way we look back on the first book brigade and the opening of Dawes."

For Kathryn Patton '10, carrying books for the library was also carrying on a family tradition. Her father, William Patton '66, participated in the original book brigade. "This is doing something close to my heart, " Kathryn said. "It's exciting that my dad and I had the same experience at Marietta College, only 46 years apart."

Forty-six years ago, when the original book brigade took place, the College cancelled classes for the day and students, faculty, administrators and staff joined to create a human chain that transferred books from the old library in Irvine into the then-new Dawes Library. Book carriers followed a coordinated plan and completed the entire move by that afternoon.

Linda Showalter, Special Collections associate, said the 2007 re-creation of the book brigade was a tribute to the Marietta College students who moved books into Dawes. "It will also help current students know where the books are going," Showalter added.

Thursday's book brigade moved only a small portion of the College's active collection from Dawes to its temporary home in Mills Hall, where it will reside while the new Library is being built.

On May 18, Marietta will conduct the official groundbreaking for the new facility at 4:30 p.m. All graduating seniors and their families will be included in the ceremony. The College also expects a large group of dignitaries, including lead donors Laura Baudo Sillerman '68 and Robert Dyson '68, whose combined pledges created a $10 million gift toward building the new library.

The College expects to begin the razing of Dawes shortly after Commencement ceremonies have finished on May 19.

The new Marietta College Library, which is budgeted for $17 million and funded solely on donations, is expected to open in January 2009.

Dave and Brenda Rickey pledge $2 million toward Library Project

February 1, 2007 -- Dave Rickey '78 was reared on technology. His everyday vocabulary includes words such as semiconductors and high performance communication chips. Mention the library's Dewey Decimal System to him and you might get a blank stare.

So it might come as a surprise that Dave and Brenda Rickey, of Poway, Calif., have pledged $2 million toward the new Marietta College Library (scheduled to open in January 2009). Lori Lewis, vice president of advancement, said the gift pulls the Advancement team within about $500,000 of fulfilling the $17 million construction cost of the facility.

"We are overwhelmed by the unremitting support and dedication that Dave and Brenda have displayed toward Marietta College. Their gift toward this project will have a positive impact on the College community and the community at large," Lewis said.

Even Dave admits it's not the most likely fit. "I really wasn't thinking about making a donation to the Library Project, but Brenda and I met with President (Jean) Scott and Lori Lewis and we realized this was important to them and to Marietta College. We have a lot of faith in President Scott and her vision for the College."

Nevertheless, if his wife hadn't persevered, the Rickey Information Commons might yet be an unnamed space. It was Brenda who connected with the concept. "I just think a library is such a major component of what makes a college. If you have a distinctive library it can be a great drawing point for prospective students. I also thought naming the area that will contain the majority of computers and Internet stations was a natural fit for our family."

The Rickey Commons, an area of approximately 5,150 square feet, will serve as a student productivity center with proximity to both research support provided by library professionals and technology support provided by information technology staff.

"Dave and Brenda Rickey brought together two of their passions—technology and education at Marietta College—to donate the Rickey Information Commons for our new library. The Rickeys understand that the ways in which students learn are changing, and that online resources play a key role in that learning. For that reason, they insisted that the new library contain the best possible technological resources, from infrastructure to databases, and they have generously provided the resources to make that possible," said Marietta College President Dr. Jean A. Scott. "The partnership of Dave and Brenda Rickey with Marietta College is a very special one, and I am proud to work with them, inspired by their generosity, and deeply grateful for their insistence that Marietta College students have only the best."

Prior to his retirement in 2005, Rickey was CEO, President and Chairman of Applied Micro Circuits Corp., a global leader in network and embedded PowerPC processing, optical transport and storage solutions. He was responsible for taking AMCC from $50 million per year revenue in 1996 to more than $435 million in 2000.

"It is nice to know that we are playing a role in securing Marietta College's future, and for providing a showcase building that will enhance the outstanding image of my alma mater," Dave said.

Library collection on the move
Dec. 18, 2006

The next phase of Marietta College's Library Project is underway as Carney-McNicholas moving company of Cleveland, assisted by library staff and some fraternity members of Delta Tau Delta, began moving the inactive part of the library collection the week of Dec. 11. It will be housed at a nearby storage facility and available for library staff to retrieve if students need a selection.

The library circulation and reference desks will move to Mills Hall during Spring Break 2007 and the Dawes Memorial Library will officially close in March for abatement and then be demolished in the summer of 2007. The new library is scheduled to open in January 2009.

Library staff re-discover documents with signatures of Washington, Jefferson
Marietta's Special Collections a true gem in Ohio
Nov. 10, 2006

Another day, another file to catalog.

Library re-discovers documents with Washington, Jefferson signatures
Not a task associated with fun, but a necessary ritual for Marietta College's Linda Showalter as she prepared—with assistance from four student workers and several library staff from other departments—approximately 50,000 books and 100 pieces of artwork from Special Collections for shipment to a storage facility in Massachusetts.

During the monotony of the task, which included photographing every piece of artwork and cataloging every book, there were moments of excitement.

One moment in particular was an exceptional re-discovery: Showalter and the library staff uncovered two Ohio Company Purchase deeds that include the signatures of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. At the time the document was penned, Washington was President of the U.S. and Jefferson was Secretary of State.

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3-D model, color rendering gives glimpse of what College's new library will look like

July 7, 2006

It may be just a few inches in diameter, but it has caused quite a buzz on the Marietta College campus.

The excitement surrounds a three-dimensional scale model of the proposed new library, which is on display at the current library.